THE RULE OF LAW

Veranstaltungsort:

Juridicum, KG1, Hörsaal U13
Schottenbastei 10-16, 1010 Wien

Eine Veranstaltung des Bruno Kreisky Forums für internationalen Dialog und der Universität Wien, Juristische Fakultät

Tessa Szyszkowitz in conversation with Philippe Sands and Michael Waibel

THE RULE OF LAW: WHAT ROLE CAN COURTS PLAY ON THE GLOBAL STAGE?
From Pinochet to the ICC: How national and international tribunals try to bring justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations at the Peace Palace in The Hague, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), established in 2002 by the adoption of the Rome Statute after ratification by 60 countries, could help bring justice – to perpetrators, but also for victims. And for entire nations. But the reach of international courts is hotly disputed. Who decides which cases to hear? Should the ICJ deal with a recent case brought by South Africa against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza?

Philippe Sands, bestselling author and British-French international lawyer, is a Professor of Public Understanding of Law at UCL and visiting professor at Harvard Law School. Sands has acted for Mauritius and Palestine on issues of self-determination before the ICJ and has engaged in significant cases in recent years, including Pinochet, Congo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Iraq, Guantanamo, Chagos and the Rohingya. He often explains legal matters in the form of books which blend personal memoir, historical detective work and gripping courtroom drama. Following East West Street (2016) and The Ratline (2020), he explores the links between a Nazi SS officer, Walther Rauff, and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in his latest book 38 Londres Street - and with it, the entanglement of dictatorship in Chile, Nazism, European colonial history, and our modern times.

Michael Waibel, is a professor of international law at the University of Vienna. His teaching and writing focus on international law, international economic law, sovereign debt and international dispute settlement. He received the Deák Prize of the American Society of International Law, the Book Prize of the European Society of International Law and a Leverhulme Prize for his research.
Previously, he taught for a decade at the University of Cambridge, und was from 2015-2019 co-deputy director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and Director of Studies at Jesus College. In 2019, he was Nomura Visiting Professor of International Financial Systems at Harvard Law School.

Tessa Szyszkowitz is an author and UK correspondent for the Austrian weekly Falter. His latest book “Echte Engländer – Britain and Brexit” (2018)